THE rapid rise in Chinese power in East Asia is causing a re-examination of traditional attitudes and policies in the region. Thant Myint-U examines with an historian's eye the relations among India and China and the land in-between.

That the situation is complex is a huge understatement, as can be seen in this Cambridge don's analysis of the linguistic as well as the politico-military scenarios. Thant travels far and wide in the region where, like tectonic plates, the two superpowers grind away at each other, and Burma ( Myanmar) fears being trampled.

I happened to be in India in 1962 when China invaded Burma. I witnessed the panic as women donated their gold bangles to the war effort and men volunteered for the front only to find that the Chinese had withdrawn, leaving another frontier dispute to be settled later, if at all.

Thant starts with Burma and the Shan States, the link to the Yunnan, and the elusive goal of accessing China by the back door. It's a dated concept, replaced by the corridor for imports and exports to and from China's southwestern extremity, with access to the Bay of Bengal.

The comparison of the China the author witnessed 20 years ago and the present underlines enormous changes wrought in relatively little time. The problems created by partitioning off northeast India, the quasi-independent states therein, and the sense of unfinished business as far as maps (and power) are concerned, are well explored.

The sudden rise of China brought self-assurance that historians, mindful of the humiliations of the 19th century, can well understand. The question is asked: Why does India not advance like China? The answer can perhaps be seen in the recent vetoing of plans to admit foreign chain stores and thus reduce costs for the peasantry.

In an area of unknowns, one has to hedge one's bets. If China's intentions are not clear, what of Burma's current charm offensive and its own partial opening-up? Is it no more than trying to ensure survival, even if, in the process, Mandalay is turned into a Chinese suburb?

Not mentioned here are the even more complex alignments in the South China Sea, with all their international ramifications.

How does the proposed development of Tavoy as an entrepo{aci}t fit into the geopolitical framework? What about Singapore?

This then is a thought-provoking volume, taking the broad view by examining the details. It has one major irritant. While there are no footnotes, the endnotes are incomplete and imprecise.

On Page 297 we're told a Mrs Grimwood would "later write an exciting book about her ordeal" of a trek out of Manipur in revolt. There are two endnotes for that page, one referencing a history of Manipur and the other British views in an 1896 volume by Johnstone no title given. Standard footnotes or complete endnotes are preferable to selected references.

There is a minor irritant of using contracted forms of spoken English in the written non-conversational prose, surprising in the work of an Oxbridge pundit. The use of imperial measures (miles, etc) is also a little surprising, but perhaps appropriate in the circumstances.

The text offers the occasional telling phrase, as with "There was no more war, but nothing like peace." The scene is always well set:

"Blackberries don't work in Rangoon but they do in the Wa area," and we have some splendid truisms: "The Chinese, like the Romans, infamously eat everything."

Occasionally the flow can be inexact. What precisely is "jungle disease"? The occasional throw-away phrase can be disconcerting, as with "Queen Isabella was praised for her risk-taking", without any indication of which Isabella we're talking about.

Presumably it was the Isabella-Ferdinand team at Granada in 1492.

Then we have the Azhali aka Ari known for their licentiousness, but who alas do not make the index or the notes, like Isabella.

Thant Myint-U concludes effectively. His impression is that "the old frontiers that had long separated India and China were coming to an end and, in their place, a new crossroads was being made." With Burma at the centre? Time will tell.

The Nation (Thailand)/ANN